Two separate cleanup efforts are underway on opposite ends of the municipality of La Paz, and both are aimed at the same goal: cleaner streets and beaches as the high season approaches.
In Todos Santos, the city has brought back a public recycling container that disappeared for a while. In the capital, officials have earmarked roughly 10 million pesos (about $540,000 USD) for new beach-cleaning machinery, including sweepers, a backhoe and collection trucks.
Todos Santos Gets Its Recycling Bin Back
The La Paz municipal government reinstalled a Ruta Cero container — part of the city’s differentiated recycling program, which separates out plastic and cardboard for recovery — on the corner of Calle del Huerto and Álvaro Obregón. The bin was handed over to local delegate Lucio Beltrán Guluarte and sits in a spot that sees heavy foot traffic, which should make it easier for residents and visitors to use.
Daniel Cabral Ramírez, head of the city’s Sustainability and Waste Management department, said the location was chosen specifically because so many people pass through the area, which should translate into better collection of recyclable waste. He asked residents and visitors to use the bin only for plastic and cardboard, since Ruta Cero containers are meant for materials that can actually be recycled, not general trash.
The move restores recycling drop-off service to the artsy Pacific-side town after the previous container had gone missing. La Paz now operates eight similar containers across the urban area, including at the Palacio Municipal, the Malecón, UABCS and Parque Morelos, as part of a program that also extends into rural communities like Todos Santos.
La Paz Invests in Beach-Cleaning Equipment
On the beach side, La Paz has committed roughly 10 million pesos toward new equipment: two mechanical sweepers, a backhoe and additional collection trucks. The gear is meant to speed up routine maintenance on the city’s beaches, many of which draw both local families and tourists year-round, including several that have earned Blue Flag and Platinum Beach certifications for water quality and cleanliness.
Heavier, more frequent machinery means crews can clear sargassum, debris and litter faster, particularly after busy weekends or storms. It also complements cleanup efforts already happening along the Baja Sur coastline, such as a recent Zofemat operation in Los Cabos that recovered about 275 pounds of PET plastic from Playa El Chileno.
What It Means for Beachgoers
Neither project is flashy, but both address a practical concern for anyone spending time on Baja Sur’s beaches or streets: where the trash actually goes. The new Todos Santos container gives residents a dedicated spot to drop off plastic and cardboard instead of tossing it in with regular garbage. The equipment investment in La Paz should mean fewer stretches of beach littered with debris during the winter season, when visitor numbers climb.
City officials have not announced a timeline for when the new sweepers and trucks will be in full rotation. Residents who want to recycle in the meantime can use any of the eight existing Ruta Cero containers in La Paz or the newly reinstalled one in Todos Santos, located at Calle del Huerto and Álvaro Obregón.
